Creating Grass Openings from Forest Guidance 2011

Job Sheet –Upland Wildlife Habitat Management

Background & Guidance:

Several historic fields in NH and provide an opportunity for landowners to remove poor quality timber and plant cool season grasses to provide additional grassland habitat. These installations have the most benefit as part of larger grassland landscapes. Use wildlife action plan Grasslands layer (tier 1 & 2) to determine identified existing habitats.

Ranking Young Forest vs. Grasslands:

Areas which are cleared for early successional habitat and left to regenerate as young forest in > 5 acre blocks are a ranking priority at the state level.

In non-stony soils (example: pasture pine on outwash) trees can be ground to the soil level creating an area which can be brush-hogged every 3 years. This type of installation does take ranking priority for installations > 5 acres.

Areas cleared of trees and seeded to cool season grasses with conservation cover, do not take ranking points for any state level ranking priorities.

Installation Life Spans:

When Conservation Cover is planned in the contract, the installation has a 5 year life span, and mowing shall not occur between May 31 and August 1st, and preferably after the first hard frost.

If the landowner decides to stump and seed the area at their expense, the early successional installation has a 1 year life span.

Practices Used:

Early Successional Habitat

Conservation Cover

Obstruction Removal (1 acre Max)

Wildlife Benefits:

  • Improves pollinator habitat.
  • Within grassland landscapes and > 20 acres provides habitat for ground nesting birds.
  • >1/2 acre areas within young forest provide singing ground for woodcock.

Site Location Criteria:

  • Plan the area adjacent to existing grassland landscapes (use WAP data)
  • Not in hydric soils
  • Do not clear vegetation within 200 feet of vernal pools
  • Select relatively flat <8% sloping areas (soils A& B slopes).
  • Find old pasture sites which have already been cleared of stones or non-stony soils.
  • Not adjacent to houses
  • Does not justify long stretches of forest trails or stream crossings
  • Not within the 100 year floodplain.
  • Target poor quality timber including, red maple, pasture pine, and beech.

Enhancing the Grassland Opening

  • Stump and seed an irregular shaped opening within forest landscapes
  • Create “square” shapes adjacent to other grasslands.
  • Mow clover plots for pollinators yearlyto control weeds.
  • Locate low on the landscape near young forest, shrub wetlands, dear yards, oak stands, and aspen-birch stands.
  • Adjacent to the grass opening create a 25-50ft widefeathered edge (thick brush and saplings) for escape cover.
  • Retain Snag Trees on the edge
  • Where possible create 10-20 acres openings.

Job Sheet –Upland Wildlife Habitat Management

Above left: 1962 aerial photo showing a historic field. Above right: transparency used on 2009 aerial photo showing area grown up into forest.

Below: a planned grassland opening, this avoids wetlands and has an irregular shape.

The planned polygon still needs to be checked for NHB, wetlands, vernal pools, steep slopes and timber quality. Access at this site still poses an issue. The tone of the photo indicates an existing shrubland habitat which is probably dominated by invasive plants. In this setting the planner should discuss with the landowner retaining some of the shubland features of the habitat. The potential example opening is 31 acres which allows for a more practical installation area of 10-20 acres with control of invasive plants and creating a “feathered edge”.

Job Sheet –Upland Wildlife Habitat Management